Hot for Teacher

So, the first month of Kindergarten was pretty rough for our son, actually it sucked for the whole family. He basically hated everything about it; the size of the school, the kids, the playground, the homework, the long days, and most of all, his teacher.

In fact the only good thing about Kindergarten was one little girl, who he promptly fell in love with. Of course, he wouldn't say so directly, but he let on in other ways. Her name would be frequently slipped into conversation and he would mention how she chased him on the playground; that little vixen! He even remembered every last detail of her picture-day look; from her long hair worn down, to her beautiful purple dress, and most importantly, her fancy, crystal bindi. As luck would have it, the love of his life moved to Texas a few weeks into the school year. Figures!

Despite this unfortunate turn of events, little by little things started to turn around. After a while, the school began to feel a little smaller, the kids became more familiar, the playground got fun, the homework got easier, the days still felt long, yet manageable, and the teacher...

Well, let's just say, that today my son asked to make his teacher a card after school. He drew a picture of himself inside, which was basically just a floating head, that closely resembled a skull. Next to his "head" was a heart. He then asked me how to write this...
"I love you Mrs. C. From your bonkers friend."

Kids, they really do say the darnedest things!

So the moral of this story is this... don't jump to conclusions, what your child hates one day, they can love the next. Parenting not only requires a never-ending well of patience, it also requires a great deal of flexibility. So let them feel what they need to feel from moment to moment; honor their emotions, be sensitive and present, and then let it go. Sometimes we need to fix things, but most of the time, we just have to be their soft spot to fall.